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Josh, thanks for the links, downloaded the EA81 engine (2 plus hours, dot ham dial up conn.) can't make out what they are scans of though going for the EA82 tonight Thanks again

Soobu, your spark box? well your car has an ignitor in the distributor, it also has a knock control unit and it is tied into the FPCU and ECU - which one do you call a spark box? What is the tach doing when it starts acting up? Just falling to zero? Bouncing around? Slowly falls as the engine RPM go down?

Tex, fuel injection covers cold start enrichment, fuel pump, boost enrichment, boost control via the wastegate solenoid (it can if it deems nes. increase the max boost pressure) and fast idle speed The other major system is spark control, timing advance and knock retard are controlled solely by the hot wire MAF ECU with it's optical crank angle sensor distributor (unlike the vane style pre 87 systems whose dist has vacuum and mechanical controls and a stand alone knock control unit) There are other minor systems which have connections to the ECU (AC and transmission) Hope this answers your question somewhat.

Tcass, it sounds like you have 4wd "binding" Are the front and rear tires exactly alike? My bet is one set is a different diameter than the other. Back the car up for about 20 meters or so. The diff lock you are expierencing sounds like it is the center diff being bound up. Hope this helps and check the coil bracket ground for your other post problem.

The over boost control feels like the ignition switch was turned off for only 1/2 second. The driveline shock is severe. The engine will then pull like it was until the timer times out again. Your MBC may be to blame as it may be allowing waste gate creep i.e. leaking some of the pressure through and causing the waste gate to open slightly. My wagon pulls like crazy right up to 7 k RPM. Ask Trogdor he has seen it do this. I recco you put your boost gage on a tee fitting in your waste gate control line, see if you get any pressure before you get to the "dialed in" pressure. I experimented with many home made MBCs the spring is the second most critical component right after the ball / seat. Good luck. Tex, my parts have not arrived yet??!! Am calling Jameco today. Yes we need the 5Vdc ref to calibrate the op amps for the proper control (clamping) voltage, I also ordered an 5volt VR IC (voltage regulator), BTW, no foolin' I honestly don't kow much about 'trisy either.

Tom, nice car they are, the "cybrid" power steering is one trouble spot (they love to use up their brushes and MUST have the special Subaru fluid in them) Tons of electromechanical "gizmos" There are many forums dedicated to the six'rs. The ER27 they have is almost a clone of an EA82 with 2 extra cyl. (T-belts, lifter clack ect.) I'm sure the Trogdor will chime in. Hope this helps some

The head light system on your 87 is not like American cars. The common element of each head lamp bulb is supplied positive battery voltage. The filament (hi or low beam) that you want to light is grounded by the switch. Kind of a safty measure - if one of these wires happens to go to ground, there is no "short". Nothing "blows out" You say you replaced the under dash relay. Well there are two of them, one for the right side and one for the left side. Subaru would not let one relay control all your lighting (if it went toast you would become an instant "Stevie Wonder on wheels"). Do you have high wattage or fancy lamps in there?? Some are very prone to burning out early. Try a pair of normal lamps for a while. Or go with the new Sylvania lamps Hope this helps

pleiades You have not said you have held it on 10 psi or above for over five seconds ? Find a long hill and in an upper gear get it over ten psi and hold it there for atleast five seconds. Please report your findings.

Tom thanks for the props, the relay is used when the ignition switch is going south, the relay is controlled by the failing contacts in the ig switch. They generally will pass enough amperage to operate the relay coil. Donald I have no idea what a "charp "horn button" switch " is but if you say it will work, I'm sure it will.

Just another note on pulling any distributor. There is no "magic" in having it at 0 degs or top dead center. Just do not rotate the engine while the dist. is removed. The trick I like to use is wrapping a piece of wire and pointing it at the rotor before pulling it. (picture shows a pipe cleaner being used) The object is to put the dirstributor back in with the rotor pointing in the same direction. I also like to mark with a magic marker or "Sharpie" where the bolt hole is lined up as there maybe multiple "shadows" or they maybe hard to discern. Hope this helps

thanks JW but it is not intelligence, just experience. I hope to have it accepted into the USRM. Please add anything I may have missed.

There are currently several active posts on starter engagement problems. I thought this may be of interest. (Please note, this article only refers to 1989 and earlier Subarus, newer Loyales MTs may have a clutch interrupt switch, see ** below) First to dispel info given in reference to any relays involved. There are none, repeat no relays come on a factory equipped car. As will be seen it is a reliable fix to add one, but there is no relay used for starter engagement. The ignition switch, when in the start position, feeds battery voltage directly to the starter solenoid unless the vehicle has an automatic transmission. In this case, there is an inhibitor switch in the console which only allows the control voltage to reach the starter solenoid in the park or neutral position. Just a switch no relay. (Note: Some may argue the starter solenoid is a relay, in an operational sense they are correct, in semantics -- I will refer to it as the factory does.) **Newer Loyales may have a clutch pedal switch. This switch located up under the dash in the path of the pedal swing arm, is depressed and thus in a "closed" position, when the clutch pedal is in a fully depressed state. If when you turn the ignition switch to the start position the starter fails to engage - A) It is possible that a battery cable or it's connection is dirty, loose, or corroded - thus creating high resistance. Here is a quick test. Hold the ignition in the start position for five seconds. Open the hood and place your hand on all battery connections and cable ends to feel for a warm connection. IF the starter has engaged and there is some current passing through a connection with high resistance - heat will be generated. Green colored or other "odd looking" connections are always suspects. It is possible that the starter solenoid internal contacts have burned and are not making full contact. While holding the ignition switch in the start position a sharp "rap" on the solenoid may jar the contacts into a closed position allowing the starter to engage. If this is the case you can elect to repair/replace the contacts or replace the solenoid/starter. C) If the above tests prove unsatisfactory, it is likely the ignition switch itself has problems. The starter solenoid needs a fair amount of current to energize. This puts the contacts in the ignition switch under duress. To test this, connect a "jumper" wire from the positive battery terminal to the small spade connector located on the starter solenoid. One will have to remove the factory connector before "jumping" the solenoid. (Please make sure car is in neutral or Park before doing this test) If the jumper wire allows the starter to engage, there are several fixes that can be employed. 1) Replace ignition switch - labor and $$ intensive, beyond the scope of this article. 2) Install a "Never Fail" button/ switch. This button (momentary switch) is wired to feed the control voltage to the starter solenoid, thus bypassing the ignition switch. A "make shift" solution at best. It will work and is a simple matter of wiring. to wit: a) Get a 10 amp momentary switch from the source of your choosing. Find a suitable mounting point for said switch. Most dashes have several "blanks" to choose from, or mount it under the dash as a secret switch. you will need a "feed voltage source". You could i) probe your fuse panel for an ignition switched "hot fuse". ii) run a fused connection directly to the battery iii) place a tap on the main ignition feed connector under the steering col. Since you will be running this voltage to the starter and through the bulkhead (firewall) a fused source should be used. This "feeder" is connected to one side of the procured switch. c) The other side of the switch is wired to the small spade connector on the starter solenoid. The proper method is to splice solder the wire to the existing wire, but some may stuff it under the female connector and slide the spade back in place. Please use a grommet or other form of protection when passing the wire through the bulkhead. These connection methods will allow the use of the normal ignition switch start position but when it fails the "Never Fail" button is used. If you choose to simply put a female spade connector on this wire and plug it on to the starter solenoid, the "Never Fail" will be the only way to get the car to start. 3) The best method, in my admittedly feeble mind, is the addition of a "start relay". This relay supplements the ignition switch and requires no "Never Fail" folderol (like in a case where some one borrows the car and you forget to tell them about the "Never Fail") The relay is controlled by the ignition switch and it in turn feeds the current necessary for starter solenoid engagement. An "auxiliary lighting" relay is a good choice, but any 12Vdc 10 amp relay will suffice. I mount mine under the hood and in the general location of the starter. This allows use of the factory female connector and simplifies getting a fused battery feed voltage. Here is the wiring of said relay. Hope this helps and please email me any corrections for any details I may have missed. neper at westol.com[/color]

The fuel cut protection is on a timer circuit. Try holding it at 12 or so for more than four seconds. How does Emril say it "BAM" MAF voltage following clamping circuit under design, need +5Vdc ref voltage. Watch the engine temps. I have never seen a lean condition running those pressures but ..... Do your engine a favor get an EGT gauge good luck

I agree with Torx, sounds like the switch is toast. Best bet (unless you want to pull the lower panel and get out the voltmeter, can supply connector and wire info) is go to a boneyard and get one. Pulling the steering wheel is also correct I believe.

Glad to hear it helped. Heartless, the EA82 shifter is a different design. Your problem is probably bushings. I have a scan of the shifter with the weak points if you are interested

Peter, first let me welcome you to the board. Lot of good info has been passed so far. My expierence and findings differ on a few points 1) you ask about a pressure switch that senses fuel pressure and allows the starter to engage. I have never seen any such devise on a Subaru 2) Glen says the fuel pump runs to pressurize the system - this is true but to the best of my knowledge, it is controled by a timer in the ECU, . 3) Gilles has a good point about the clutch switch. If it's an auto the nuetral start switch could be to blame. 4) You ask why don't the head lights dim. What has been my problem on four separate Roos of this vintage is the ignition switch start contacts. They don't pass enough juice to pull the solenoid and then as Glen says the starter does not draw the battery down (dim head lamps). You sound quite savoy in this endevour and I would suggest you catch it in this problem then take a piece of wire (16 AWG or so) connect one end to the positive battery terminal the other to the small spade connector on the starter (you will have to remove the factory connector.) If this "jumper" makes it crank, post here or email me for a relay fix I use. It could indeed be the starter solenoid contacts but I use this test first. Hope this helps

Nick, I will be emailing you with the steps you need and a copy of the repair article. I'll get some pictures to go along with the description.

Ben, I fixed your links, I hope you don't mind Nice looking Gyro!! As for the fuel icing problem. Well the K.I.S.S. solution would be to add an exhaust "furnace" to heat the intake air when ness. (I bet that thing makes a nice rumble as no muffler is visable) And remove any heat block plate between the carb and manifold (which is heated by coolant flow). The EA81 is used in many areo apps so this must work. The FI solution is doable. There are two forms of FI on our vintage Subys. The Multiport or MPFI requires the use of two port heads. The SPFI or Single Port (same as a throttle body injection) in use on EA82 engines would fit onto your EA81. The manifold has the same spacing. This would as you said require a "brain" or ECU as they are known. You would also need it's various sensors and a fuel injection fuel pump. Best bet on getting one - a boneyard or a post on the market place for someone dismantling a SPFI car. Hope this helps and I believe you will get more support for this.

Ben, mighty fine looking RX, well done sir. Going back to your original problem. The cable binding or "hard to push down pedal" is probably not caused by the HH not being connected. It may help though. A simple test to see if the aux spring is causing this, is to disconnect the spring and push the pedal. Do not operate the car without some form of clutch return spring. As I mentioned the routing of the cable can cause problems. A common problem is running the cable above the steering shaft. Placing it between the shaft and the brake booster. This is incorrect as it should run under the steering shaft. Hope this helps. BTW the HH works via a "check ball valve" which rolls back and seals when the car is on an incline and the clutch is disengaged.

Ben, the hill holder and it's cable is the factory return spring. The bell crank on the HH has a spring wound so it will return to the released position. This spring is suppose to be the clutch return spring when connected. The problem you are expierencing sounds like a) the cable is about to go south (frayed on the inside, although your idea of lubricating it is very good) the cable was replaced at some point and routed incorrectly, this could cause some binding. BTW. The clutch return spring makes it harder to push the pedal as you must stretch the spring to do so. I like my HH, it takes a little experiementing to get it adjusted but I feel they are a nice and quite unique feature. Good luck looking forward to the picts. The factory trunk lip spoiler went all the way across the trunk.

I'm not laughing Gilles, that is almost the famous McBrat fix. He showed us how to cut the side of the heater box, slide the core out/in and glue on a patch. Alittle easier than cutting the metal bulkhead, so you're not crazy. I am hoping it doesn't come to this. Thanks for the idea.

Donald, thanks for the clarification but it does not agree with the 88 FSM. Under the section for "Electrical Unit Location" it states "4wd Lo indicator switch---attached to transmission case" I do agree that on a push button single range, the switch for the 4wd indicator is on the transmission case.

Wiil, continuing on Arche's head bolt theory. Could the old head bolts have been stretched beyond their viable use limit? Could the thinner head gasket have caused the bolt to enter into an unused portion of the block or possibly bottom out resulting in a false torque reading. Just attemping to answer your original question. I have read, the big blowers over at 'Yota, use special head "studs" and nuts to hold their heads down

Ben, the spoiler for your sedan is a trunk mounted "lip" spoiler. They are made of a pliable urethane and will break off chunks if pushed on too hard. A post in the marketplace may find you one, they were optional on other sedans. Hope this helps

Gravel, gotta luv "Rivets are friction material"arf arf. I take it you will give the rear seal on the engine a good look - it also could cause the "stains" on the bottom of the bellhousing along with the breather cover plate you speak of. If it isn't leaking now it could. The pressure plate is obviously showing signs of slippage -resulting in major heating, no sandpaper will help this, sorry Donald. The heat takes the "spring" out of the P.plate, this in turn leads to more slipping which - more heating ect. Your flywheel may also have "heat treated" hard spots, you going to have it turned and lightened? The XT6 clutch and P.Plate are a good upgrade if you are shopping. Just one other thing, the fuel filter looks like a carb style metal can? If so they are not built for F.I. fuel pressure. Maybe it's just the angle?